Wheel-box.



No. 885,768. PATENTED NOV. 13, 1906.

I. A. WEAVER.

WHEEL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED APR.15.1904.

I iy 1. s .3 a I 4- Z 5 y g l v" I l' i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SATILEY COMPANY, OF OF ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION WHEEL-BOX.

Patented Nov. 13, 1906.

Application filed April 15, 1904- Serial No. 203,365.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA A. WEAVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheel-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wheelboxes, though it is applicable to the hubs of metal wheels, and has among its objects to provide a wheel-box having a closed outer end to prevent the escape of oil therefrom or the admission of dust and dirt thereto; to provide means for retaining oil within said box, said means cooperating to hold said box upon the axle; to provide a box of such con struction that there are no exposed oil-holes to become clogged; to provide a box capable of being removed from the axle without the use of any tools whatsoever, yet secured against accidentally coming off the axle to provide a box free from projections which would catch grass and Weeds and wind them about the axle during the revolutions of the wheel, and in general to provide a neat, cheap, and practicable wheel-box of the character referred to which can be economically manufactured.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description, reference be ing' had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation partly broken away to expose details of construction and arrangement. Fig.2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective viewof a retaining-ring.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates as a whole a wheel-b ox rot at ably mounted up on an axle 2, said wheel-box in the form shown being cast in one piece with one end closed and" having at its other end an enlargement 3, comprising an enlarged inwardl -opening annular chamber within which is a retainingring 4, said wheel-box being cast around said ring and moving thereupon. Said retainingring is chambered or made hollow on its inner face, as clearly shown in the drawings, and is adapted to receive the end of a retaining-pin 5 passing obliquely through the axle 2 and held in place by means of a flat spring 6 snapped around said axle and attached at one end to said confining or retaining pin in the manner shown.

In order to prevent the retaining-ring from turning with the wheel-box upon the axle and wearing the pin, partitions 7 are provided in the hollow portion of said ring which engage the end of said pin, and thus hold the ring against turning, said ring then constituting a part of the bearing-surface upon which the wheel-box turns. The chambers formed in said retaining-ring 4 by the partitions in addition to receiving the end of the retaining-pin 5 also constitute oilcups into which oil is introduced and from which through outlets 8 the oil is fed to the bearing-surface of the ring and axle.

9 designates a washer, mounted on the axle 2 between the confining-pin and the in ner end of wheel-box to prevent the outside of the Wheel-box from wearing on the pin and also forms a more perfect closure around the axle for the opening into the box. In order to prevent said washer from revolving with the wheel-box, it is provided With lugs 10, which rest against the pin 5. It Will be observed that this wheel-box being cast in one piece affords a closed oil-chamber Without joints; that the annular ring is inclosed within this integral casing; that the oil-chamber is within its interior when such ring is used, but such interior is open for the communication of the oil to the perimeter of the wheelbox that the oblique hole through the axle affords not only a seat for the retaining-pin but also a channel by means of which the oil is introduced into the oil-chamber; that the several members in combination afford a perfectly-lubricated b.0x securely retained, and that the parts are so arranged that they rotate Without friction or shearing the retaining-pin.

In order to remove the box from the the coil-spring 6 is flexed off the axle, the pin 5 Withdrawn, and the box is then free to be removed from the axle.

While I have shown and described only one form of device for retaining a Wheel-box upon its axle by means of a retaining member which has interior connection with the wheel-box and exterior connection with the axle, it is obvious that modifications and alterations can be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not,

axle,

box having a closed outer end therefore, limit the invention, except by the claims.

I claim- 1. In combination with an axle, a wheelbox comprising a tubular member having an annular enlargement near its inner end, and a retaining-pin passing obliquely through said axle into said annular enlargement and holding said box upon said axle.

2. In combination with an axle, a wheelbox comprising a tubular member with a closed outer end and having an annular enlargement near its inner end, and a ret ainingpin passing obliquely through said axle and into confining engagement with said annular enlargement.

3. In combination with an axle, a wheelbox having at its inner end an enlarged, inwardly-opening annular chamber, a retaining member within said chamber and a retaining-pin passing obliquely through said axle and into retaining engagement with said ret aining member.

4. In combination with an axle, a closed wheel-box provided near its inner end with an enlarged, inwardly-opening annular chamber, a ret aining-ring within said chamber and around said axle, a retainingpin passing obliquely through said axle and into retaining engagement with said retaining-ring, and means for holding said pin in pl ace.

5. A wheel-box of the general character described provided with an annular enlargement of its bore between the ends thereof and an annulus cast within said annular enlargement and independent of the box whereby the annulus is permanently confined within the annular seat but constitutes a separate structure.

6. In combination with an axle, a wheeland an enlarged, inwardly-opening, annular chamber near its inner end, a confining-ringwithin said annular chamber, a retaining member passing through said axle and having retaining engagement with said ring at one end and locked to said axle at its other end, substantially as described.

7. In combination with an axle and a wheelbox having a central bore to afford a bearing for said axle, of a retaining device for holding the wheel-box and axle in operative relation, said retaining device comprising a detached member located interiorly of the Wheel-box and engaging the same, and a second member detachably engaging the first and the axle and extending exteriorly of the Wheel-box, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a wheel-box, comprising a tubular member closed at its outer end and having an annular enlargement at its inner end affording an oil-chamber, of an axle having an aperture extending obliquely therethrough from a point in the upper portion of said axle exterior to the wheel-box to a point in the lower portion of said axle interior of the oil-chamber, and a retaining-pin seated in said aperture and extending into the wheel-box.

9. A wheel box comprising a tubular member closed at its outer end and provided with an annular enlargement integrally formed at its inner end, a retaining member of annular form inclosed within said enlargement and affording an oil-chamber within its interior, in combination with an axle having an aperture extending obliquely therethrough from a point in the upper portion of said axle exterior to the wheel-box to a point in the lower portion of said axle interior of the retaining member when the parts are assembled, and a retaining-pin seated withinthe aperture and engaging the retaining member within the Wheel-box, substantially as described.

10. The combination with an axle, of a wheel-box having a central bore to afford a bearing for said axle, the inner end of said wheel-box being provided with an annular enlargement to afford an oil-chamber, the walls whereof closely fit the axle, the latter having an aperture affording a seat for a retaining-pin and a retaining-pin adapted to said seat and engaging the wheel-box interiorly.

IRA A. WEAVER.

Witnesses:

JAS. DEAKIN, S. E. KILLAM. 

